MwB Co-Organizes Seminar/Workshop, “Sing the Bridge: Choral Singing and Intercultural Dialogue,” in Debrecen, Hungary

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In anticipation of the 23rd Béla Bartók International Choir Competition and Folklore Festival, Europa Cantat (Central Eastern European Centre), Musicians without Borders International and Fonix Events Organising Non-Profit, Ltd., are organizing “Sing the Bridge: Choral Singing and Intercultural Dialogue”, a seminar/workshop focusing on Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The event will explore how choral singers can contribute to reconciliation of peoples in conflict in their countries and regions. Participants will gain specific tools, new contacts, resources and ideas to use in bridging barriers and building communities.

“Sing the Bridge” will bring together choirs and singers from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. They will share their stories and their songs, learn from each other and inspire each other. Most important, they will sing together. They will be led by experts in discussions about how music “works” and about how music can inspire and facilitate other forms of intercultural sharing. Choir directors will have the opportunity to learn approaches to conducting that are non-authoritarian, inclusive and motivational. Speakers will explore opportunities and strategies for mobilizing musicians and using music to bridge historical barriers and build community.

The host choirs will be MwB’s LéLé Mam and MwB partners Pontanima, from Sarajevo, and the Bi-Communal choir for Peace in Cyprus.

• The inter-religious choir Pontanima, founded in Sarajevo shortly after Bosnia’s devastating war, uses the power of music to remove fear of ‘the other’. Pontanima performs the classical sacred music of the region’s four religions: Judaism, Islam, Catholicism and Orthodoxy-- and brings a message of reconciliation in concerts throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pontanima has won many awards for its combination of musical excellence with its contribution to healing and dialogue.

• The sixty members of the Bi-communal choir for Peace in Cyprus come from both Cypriot communities, singing Turkish and Greek Cypriot music to send a message of trust and reconciliation, while introducing people from the two communities to each other and each other’s culture. It performs widely on both sides of the island and has also toured in Greece, Turkey and the UK.

Guest Choirs will attend from the Estonian and Russian communities of Estonia, from the Greek and Turkish communities of Cyprus, and from the Hungarian and Roma communities in Hungary. Each Guest Choir will prepare a presentation about cultural diversity and communication in their region, share their music and teach one piece to all the participants.

Keynote topics and speakers will be:

• Music and the Brain (Prof. Nigel Osborne, Prof. Tamas Freund)

• Choral Music and Reconciliation in Post-Conflict Regions (Fra Ivo Markovic, Lena Melanidou)

• Music as the Bridge to Peace (Tamara Brooks, Laura Hassler)

For additional information or to register, please contact ecceec@europacantat.org or visit www.europacantat.org